HOLY SHIT! Starkey made Ronald Reagan's hearing aid!
https:// www.nytimes.com/1983/09/08/us/reagan-begins-to-wear-a-hearing-aid-in-public.html
"REAGAN BEGINS TO WEAR A HEARING AID IN PUBLIC"
The hearing aid, manufactured by Starkey Laboratories of Minneapolis, is powered by a small battery and is designed to amplify higher sound frequencies. Because it can selectively amplify these higher frequencies, the device has the effect of making what Mr. Reagan hears not just louder but also clearer, Dr. House said.
Jerome Buzicka, director of manufacturing for Starkey Laboratories, said the ability to make a hearing aid that could amplify some frequencies more than others was a major technological gain of the last year or so.
Another recent improvement cited by Mr. Buzicka is the ability to fit the hearing aid into the ear canal itself rather than restricting it to the outer part of the ear.
Mr. Buzicka said liquid material had been injected into Mr. Reagan's ear canal so an impression could be made when the material hardened. The hearing aid was then molded to conform to this impression. 'Big Cosmetic Appeal'
There's a big cosmetic appeal for a canal hearing aid, he said. It's pretty obvious that with a President, you have an advantage to having it out of sight.
That seems to be the problem with millions of people who need hearing aids, Mr. Buzicka continued. One reason they don't want to wear one is that they don't want it hanging over their ear or sticking out of their ear. This one is tucked securely in the canal and, in most cases, it's out of sight.
Mr. Buzicka said the President's hearing aid was donated by Starkey Laboratories and Burton Associates, the Los Angeles distributor. The device, custom fitted, retails for $900 to $1,100, he said.